Recent Colonoscopy

[Adam1021]

5 weeks ago I started having abdominal pain and 2-4 bowel movements every morning. My condition always seemed to get better on weekends, so I attributed it to stress. During the 3rd week I noticed some bright red in my loose stool. I did an FOBT and it came up positive for all 3 days. So I went to the GI and he ordered a colonoscopy.

I had the colonoscopy this morning and the pictures showed red ulcers in my lower sigmoid part of the colon and some inflamtion (but not real noticeable ulcers) in parts of the traverse and left side of the colon, but none on the right side or near the appendix and small intestines.

The GI took some biopsies and wouldn't commit to UC until he had a pathologist look over the biopsies. My question is, is there anything else that could cause these ulcers and inflammation? Or do ulcers usually indicate the presence of UC or Crohn's?

Thanks.

[Adam1021]

I have had on and off intestinal cramps/bloating for about 2 months. I had loose stools and diarrhea as well. It would range from bowel movements 1-4 times a day, but never more than that. There was some microscopic blood as well.

The GI did a colonoscopy and took biopsies. There were some small red ulcerations (not deep) in my sigmoid colon, but the GI keeps saying he doesn't think it looks like Crohn's or UC. The biopsy came back with a somewhat inconclusive result and the pathologist thought it was infectious, so I took Cipro for 5 days.

This helped and now I have less gas and only have 2 bowel movements a day, but I still don't feel 100%.

Could this be parasitic even though I haven't been out of the country in a year? Would the pathologist been able to detect all parasites?

Thanks.

[Ratnakar Kini]

Hi,
If you are on appropritae medications, you can keep it under control.
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The information provided is for patients’ education only and is not a medical advice. Always consult your personal physician for complete evaluation of your health problem.

- Ratnakar Kini M.D

[Adam1021]

So, can my symptoms stay mild like this for my whole life? Or do I have to worry about much worse to come?

I have heard that your symptoms generally don't get alot worse. I heard that you usually start with the severe case at the very beginning. Is this generally true?

[Ratnakar Kini]

Hi,
If medications are not taken it may worsen.
Similarly, there are many factors which may result in flaring up of UC.
A regular follow up will essential for control of symptoms of UC.
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The information provided is for patients’ education only and is not a medical advice. Always consult your personal physician for complete evaluation of your health problem.

- Ratnakar Kini M.D

[Adam1021]

Thank-you, you have been very helpful. I have one more question for you...

For the last 6 weeks (since it started) I have never had more than 4 bowel movements in a day and never at night. Also, the pain hasn't been extremely bad and I don't have blood in all of my stools. So I think I may have a mild case.

My main question is, can my UC get progressively worse over the rest of my life to the point where I have severe UC and require frequent hospitalization and surgery? Or, does your UC usually stay pretty consistent throughout your life? So in summary can I go from very mild UC to very sever UC?

Thanks for the help!

[Ratnakar Kini]

Hi,
Yes, biopsy will helpful to determine the type of colitis.
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The information provided is for patients’ education only and is not a medical advice. Always consult your personal physician for complete evaluation of your health problem.

- Ratnakar Kini M.D

[Adam1021]

Thanks for the response. Will the biopsy be able to determine what kind of colitis I have?

[Ratnakar Kini]

Hi,
Inflammation of colon is called colitis.
There are different causes of colitis.
Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's  and UC) is one of the causes of colitis.
There are other causes like infections, microscopic colitis, radiation induced and medication induced.
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The information provided is for patients’ education only and is not a medical advice. Always consult your personal physician for complete evaluation of your health problem.

- Ratnakar Kini M.D